Flexible and/or elastic self-locking band



R. F. ELLIS Filed July 4, 1945 FLEXIBLE AND/OR ELASTIC SELF-LOCKING BANDFeb. 8, 1949.

1 N VEN TOR.

Patented Feb. 8, 1949 FLEXIBLE AND/ R ELASTIC SELF-LOCKING BAND RobertP. Ellis, York, Pa. yApplication July 4, 1945, Serial No. 603,122

This invention rela-tes to flexible and/or elastic ssii-locking `bandand one of the principal objects of the invention is the provision ol" aflexible 'and/or elastic band which may be conveniently used in 'placeof the usual belt, garter or Vother similar securing means.

Another' Vobject or the invention is the provision of a band of theabove nature in which no separate end fastening ineans, such as buckles,clasps, pins, etc., need be used, the band itself being provided withinherent end fastening means.

An additional object of the invention is the provision of a band of theabove nature which will be more convenient to use than the customaryendless rubber band, either when used as a garter, etc. or to securearticles in a bundle, etc.

An additional object of the invention is the provision of a magneticallyheld locking means which be 'attached to the margins 'oi' any article offlexible wearing apparel, such as a garnient, shoes, etc., or to Aother'flexible articles, such brief cases, pocket books and hand bags; suchflexible `articles thus being held in adjustable closed relation bymerely bringing the permanently magnetize'd 'ends or kmargins of thearticle together.

And a still further object of the invention is the provision Aci Ya band'of the above nature, having two ends, which is 'adjustable in use,which can be very conveniently and quickly applied and removed and inwhich 'the adjustingand fastening means are both 'inherent with the'band material.

Other iurther objects will appear in vthe specification and beSpecifically pointed out in appended claims, reference Abeing had to theaccompanying drawings exemplifying the invenn tion and .in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates aside View of the band in enlarged scale.

Fig. 2 shows the band when closed in a loon.

Fig. 3 illustrates a sheet of band material out ci which the lengthsforming the bands may be conveniently cut.

Fig. 4 shows the sheet of band material rolled up and illustrates themethod of imparting permanent magnetization thereto.

Referring to the drawings in which like characters and numerals ofreference refer to similar parts throughout the several views, thenumeral 'o denotes a band of flexible material such as plastic, textile,etc., but may preferably be also elastic such as rubber. This band hastwo ends, on one face of each end being provided a number of serrationsor saw teeth l, the serrations on the face of one end of the band beingon the 7 Claims. (Cl. 2-311) opposite face of those on the other end sothat, when the band '5 is looped as illustrated in Fig. 2, theserrations 'l will meet and interlock and be tensionally held together.The serrations 'l are preferably formed with rearwardly inclined pointsshown so that, the stronger the pull on the band, t ie tighter theserrations will tend to grip each othc; lt will be evident that, as theserrations 'i are all of the same size and shape, the band is adjustableas to girth as Various serraticns may t into each other. Also, the bandmay be looped into either y'direction with equal results.

While'a flexible band made of plastics, such Celluloid, would holdtogether as lillustrated in Fig. 2 provided tension was continuallyapplied, the serrations of such a band if made entirely of soft elasticrubber, would pull apart due to the bending of the serrations. Toovercome this di'fculty when using an elastic material such as rubber,'i provide in the ends of the rubber band, at the serrati'cns l, afilling of magnctizable powder 8, which powder is incorporated with therubber while in plastic or liquid condition'and preferably, although notnecessarily in all circumstances, applied only at the ends as clearlyillustrated in all the views. The quantity of powder 8 may represent aproportion of anywhere from ten per cent to sixty per cent ol that ofthe rubber, this being determined by conditions of use. In Fig. 3 lisillustrated a sheet Sl 4of rubber which has been removed from theextrusionpress, the calendering machine or other suitable processingmachine with the magnetizable powder 8 now an inherent part of therubber sheet il. This l sheet may now be cut into bands E as denoted bythe dashed lines l0. Of course, if desired, the serratlons 'l may be onboth Opposite sides of the band 6 and extending any desired distancefrom the ends. Also, the band 5 may be used in `many instances withoutthe serrations l, the magnetic attraction of the powder S being suicientto hold the ends of the band together. The band E may also be compositein material, such as textile, plastics and rubber and may be partlyelastic and partly flexible while the ends may be of rigid permanentlymagnetized material. The loop 6 of the flexible band may consist of anarticle of wearing apparel such as a garment or shoe and the serratedpermanently magnetized ends may consist of both opposite marginsthereof, thus securing the garment, shoe or other article in closedposition without the use of buttons, clasps or other usual fasteningmeans. Or the permanently magnetlzed ends of the band 6 may beseparately attached to the opposite margins of a flexibleA article suchas a garment, shoe, brief case, etc., thus affording a quick, convenientand eii'ective closing means therefor'.

Before cutting up the sheet 9 into bands 6, the sheet is formed into aroll 9A as shown in Fig. 4, with the magnetizable powder impregnatededges on each end of the roll, the roll 9A then being inserted into amagnetizing coil I I through which a powerful direct electric current isflowing as from Ythe battery I2. A switch I3 is interposed in theelectric circuit which consists of the wires III, I 5 and I6. When theswitch I3 is closed for a few seconds time, the magnetizable powderparticles 8, within rolled Vsheet 9A, will have become permanentlymagnetized, the end N having North magnetic inuence while the end S hasSouth magnetic influence, thus attracting and holding each other whenbrought into close proxlil imity. It will thus become apparent that,after f the sheet 9 is cut into bands 6, and the ends fitted together asin Fig. 2, these ends, being of opposite magnetic polarity, willstrongly attract each other and the serrations 'l will thus be heldtogether even though made of soft elastic rubber. The ends of the rubberbands may be hardened so that the serrations 1 cannot bend regardless oithe amount of strain applied in practical use. Instead of permanentlymagnetizing both ends of the band 6, only one end need be permanentlymagnetized, the other end being only impregnated with magneticallyattractive powder.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that I have evolvedan elastic band which is superior to the ordinary endless elastic bandin that it need not be stretched excessively in Y.;

many instances in order to encompass the objects to be held and isfurthermore adjustable to a wide degree; a iiexible and/or elastictwo-ended garter can be quickly and conveniently applied cr removed andbeing incidentally easily adjustable to various sizes and without theuse of rigid clasps or other similar fastening devices which generallyannoy the user; a flexible and/or elastic belt in which the fasteningmeans are not only adjustable but inherent with the belt; with manysimilar applications too numerous to mention.

Various changes may be made in the embodiment of the inventionhereinabove specifically described without departing from or sacricingthe advantages of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An elastic band provided with serrations on the faces of both endsthereof, the serrations all being of the same size and shape andpermitting the interlocking of the serrations on one end with theserrations on the other end when said end are formed into a closed loop.

2. An elastic band as in claim 1, the said serrations being integralwith the elastic material composing the band,

3. A flexible band provided with serrations on the faces of each end,the serrations on one end of. said band removably interlocking with theserrations on the other end of said band when said band is looped, andpermanent magnetic attractive means located in the ends of said band.

4. A flexible band as in claim 3, the serrations on the face of one endof said band being on the opposite face of the serrations on the otherend of said band.

5. An elastic band provided with serrations on the faces of both endsthereof, the serrations on one end of said band interlocking with theserrations on the other end of said band when said band is formed into aclosed loop, said serrations being integral with the elastic materialforming said band, and permanently magnetized material in powdered formintegrated with the elastic material at the said serrations.

6. A flexible closure means comprising two oppositely disposed iiexibleflaps, the margins of each of said aps being provided withlongitudinally disposed projections interlocking over each other so asto resist tensional strain when said flaps are in closed position, saidprojections being permanently magnetized.

7. A exible closure means as in claim 6, the projections on each of saidmargins being of opposite magnetic polarity.

ROBERT P. ELLIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 125,006 Bazault Mar. 26, 1872129,928 Burt July 30, 1872 198,008 Edard Dec. 11, 1877 329,768 ParkesNov. 3, 1885 586,771 Kempshall July 20, 1897 721,253 Thompson Feb. 24,1903 820,705 Crowell May 15, 1906 874,908 Fritts Dec. 24, 1907 1,040,662Gallison Oct. 8, 1912 1,512,162 Dennis Oct. 21, 1924 1,669,642 AndrewsMay 15, 1928 1,946,964 Cobb Feb. 13, 1934 2,062,938 Ruppe Dec. 1, 19362,188,091 Baermann, Jr Jan. 23, 1940 2,313,379 Wood Mar. 9, 1943 Y2,319,292 Boggs May 18, 1943 2,354,094 Thomas July 18, 1944 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 24,567 Great Britain Nov. 6, 1907 538,226Great Britain July 25, 1941

